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a14 people & arts
Tuesday 26 January 2021
‘Baba Yaga’ introduces with a virtual reality movie premiere

By LINDSEY BAHR there to designate the end
AP Film Writer of space and not an exclu-
Last week Daisy Ridley and sive side party.
Jennifer Hudson went to And not unlike at actual
a movie premiere togeth- events, sometimes you find
er. They posed for photos yourself without anyone to
and made remarks from a talk to and just awkwardly
stage while an audience wander around eaves-
watched quietly. dropping. But at a virtual
Or, more accurately, their reality premiere you can’t
avatars did. even pretend to send text
The actors were actually messages or respond to
on different continents, emails. This reporter also
brought together for a few had to take off her headset
minutes through virtual re- for a few minutes after get-
ality headsets to walk a red ting VR dizzy.
carpet, pose for photos in Darnell co-wrote and di-
front of a step and repeat rected the film/experience
and to speak to a crowd of alongside Mathias Chele-
other avatars on behalf of This image released by Baobab Studios shows avatars representing Jennifer Hudson, left, and bourg. It also features the
their short film “Baba Yaga.” Daisy Ridley at the VR premiere of their short film “Baba Yaga.” voices of Kate Winslet and
It’s being called the first Associated Press Glen Close. The film and the
ever VR movie premiere. “I time for the film to broad- behind the “Madagascar” duce the ambitious event, rainforest room are current-
truly feel like I went to a pre- cast on your home screen films and co-founder of which included designing ly available to experience
miere,” Hudson said later. and, sometimes, a zoom- Baobab. “We usually have a rainforest room inspired through Oculus Quest.
“But I didn’t leave home! I style Q&A with talent after- our films premiere at festi- by the one in the film. Events like this may have
think it’s a cool way to do it, ward. But Baobab Studios, vals.” The virtual reality movie pre- been born out of necessity,
especially right now.” the 6-year-old interactive “Baba Yaga” actually got miere is not entirely dissimi- but they could be the way
She especially liked seeing animation studio behind a real festival premiere too lar to an actual premiere. of the future.
her team and how much a handful of cinematic as part of the Venice Film There are publicists, film- “Even if we did go back to
their avatars looked like VR experiences, decided Festival last year. But as it makers and actors, things premiering at festivals, I still
themselves. to push the envelope for became increasingly clear to look at and displays to think this is an amazing way
Virtual movie premieres “Baba Yaga.” that there would not be an take selfies with (really). At to bring people together
have become standard in “I really don’t think we opportunity stateside, the this particular event, there and to say let’s celebrate
Hollywood since the pan- would have ever thought of company started working was also a roped off “re- this medium by actually
demic started. The “events” this if it wasn’t for COVID,” alongside the XR consul- stricted” area, although having a party inside of it,”
typically just involve a start said Eric Darnell, the man tancy firm MESH to pro- organizers said it was simply Darnell said. q

Pompeii’s museum comes back to life to display amazing finds

spoons to a bronze food- The re-opening of the mu- the incredible drama that
warmer, items of the every- seum after so many de- the 79 A.D. eruption was.”
day life that was snuffed cades of travail is “a sign Large swaths of Pompeii
out by the volcanic explo- of great hope during a remain to be excavat-
sion. very difficult moment,” ed. While tourism virtually
First opened in about 1873, Pompeii’s long time direc- ground to a halt during the
the Antiquarium was dam- tor, Massimo Osanna, said. pandemic, archaeologists
aged by bombing during He was referring to the have kept working.
World War II and again in harsh blow that the pan- Just a month ago, Osanna
1980, when a deadly earth- demic’s travel restrictions revealed the discovery of
quake rocked the Naples have dealt to tourism, one an ancient fast-food eat-
area. Since the quake, the of Italy’s biggest revenue ery at Pompeii. Completely
museum had been closed, sources. On display in the excavated, the find helped
although it was reopened last room of the museum to reveal dishes popular
in 2016 as a space for tem- are poignant casts made with the citizens of the an-
Dionysus bust is displayed at the museum Antiquarium, in porary exhibitions. from the remains of some cient city who apparently
Pompeii, southern Italy, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Due to Italy’s COVID-19 of Pompeii’s residents who were partial to eating out,
Associated Press pandemic travel restric- tried to flee but were over- including what was on the
ANDREA ROSA suvius inaugurated the mu- tions, currently only visitors come by blasts of volcanic menu the day that Pompeii
POMPEII, Italy (AP) — De- seum on Monday. from Italy’s Campania re- gases or battered by a rain was destroyed.q
cades after suffering Known as the Antiquarium, gion, which includes the of lava stones ejected by
bombing and earthquake the museum gives Pom- Naples area and the Pom- Vesuvius. “I find particularly 2 9 7 3 5 1 4 6 8
damage, Pompeii’s muse- peii a permanent exhibi- peii ruins, can see the mu- touching the last room, the 4 6 5 9 2 8 7 1 3
um has been reborn, show- tion space. Visitors can see seum. one dedicated to the erup- 8 1 3 4 6 7 5 2 9
ing off exquisite finds from sections of frescoed walls Pompeii is one of Italy’s tion, and where on display 9 8 6 2 3 5 1 7 4
excavations of the ancient from the sprawling city’s top tourist attractions, and are the objects deformed 3 7 2 1 4 9 8 5 6
Roman city. unearthed villas, examples when mass tourism even- by the heat of the eruption, 1 5 4 7 8 6 3 9 2 2021 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
Officials of the archeologi- of some of the graffiti un- tually resumes, entrance the casts of the victims, 7 2 8 6 1 3 9 4 5
cal park of the ruins of the earthed by archaeolo- tickets to the ruins will also the casts of the animals,” 5 4 1 8 9 2 6 3 7
city destroyed in 79 A.D. by gists as well as household include a visit to the Anti- Osanna said. “Really, one 6 3 9 5 7 4 2 8 1
the eruption of Mount Ve- objects ranging from silver quarium. touches with one’s hand Difficulty Level 1/26